Just a few days ago, I was waking up in a big, comfortable bed with a premium mattress after sleeping in the blissful silence and total darkness of the PEI countryside. If I saw anyone at all during my days in St Peter's Harbour (and for many hours at a time, it was not uncommon to NOT see anyone out there), we smiled or nodded as we passed one another.

Now I am sleeping on a single air mattress on the floor, surrounded by light and sound: light from the master bedroom closet of our host, who likes to sleep with a light on, spills down the hall and interrupts my sleep, as do the endless city lights from the parking lot outside, the park next door, the street lights and lights from the apartments in surrounding buildings. The streetcar whizzes by every 20 minutes... noisy revelers yell outside in the parking lot... there are no crickets here at night, or, if there are, the city soundscape drowns them out!

My clothes are in boxes, and in suitcases (some marked "Argentina", others marked "winter/Vus/PEI") and in a pile next to my mattress. My kneeboard is missing, and I can't find an empty surface on which to "stage" the next three days' materials. The kitchen is not my own, and I can't find the groceries I need to make the food I want. My chequebook is lost again (and there's no money in my acct anyway, since I am "unemployed" for the year), I can't find a clean pair of underwear, and there always seem to be doors opening and closing as people come and go.

I miss the gentle island, where there is space, and silence, and fresh air.

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